Load handling and engaging device for lift trucks



Tune 29, 195 1 J GARRETT 2,682,350

LOAD HANDLING AND ENGAGING DEVICE FOR LIFT TRUCKS Filed Aug. 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JAQK N- RRRX I :QZWQQ June 29, 1954 J. N. GARRETT 2,632,350

LOAD HANDLING AND ENGAGING DEVICE FOR LIFT TRUCKS Filed Aug.- 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 11 JGTIQRNBXS Patented June 29, 1954 LOAD HANDLING AND ENGAGING DEVICE FOR LIFT TRUCKS Jack N. Garrett, McGregor, Tex.

Application August 16, 1951, Serial No. 242,050

4 Claims.

store as much as possible in a given area. It has i been generally found that this can best be accomplished by stowing one bale on top of another and leaving sufiicient working aisles so that one side of each bale is exposed.

In utilizing this type of warehousing it has been found that a great deal of floor space was wasted in aisle spaces. It appears that the ordinary lift truck requires a very wide passageway for stowing bales in this manner because it is necessary to turn the truck crosswise in the aisle to place the bales in position. To reduce the amount of lost storage space to a minimum the above mentioned load engaging and carrying attachment has been devised which permits the use of aisles only slightly wider than the truck width.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a load carrying device, suitable for use with the ordinary lift truck, which is adapted to pivot about the lifting member of the truck.

Another object of this inventionds the provision of a load engaging and lifting member which is pivotally mounted on the lifting element and. rotated by suitable power means controlled from the truck.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a load engaging and lifting member which is pivotally mounted and has means for allowing the interchanging of the load engaging members in accordance with the various types of loads to be handled.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a lift truck with the load carrying attachment of the present invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section along line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the load engaging members and the operating means for oscillating them;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing details of the supporting means;

Fig. 4 is a front View of the device positioned to engage a bale; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section alon line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showing details of attachment of the power means to the crank member of the device.

In general this device comprises a vertical bracket having a low-er horizontal extension acting as a load bearing surface; a pair of bearing blocks vertically spaced on this bracket to act as guides for a pivotally mounted vertical rod member whose lower end rests on the aforementioned load bearing surface. A pair of angularly displaced load engaging members extend generally horizontally from the lower portion of the ver-- tical rod, while a single member extends outwardly from the upper end centrally above the angular pair. This unit is mounted on any ordinary lift truck carriage assembly and is oscillated by means of an appropriatel mounted double acting hydraulic cylinder.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1, there is shown an ordinary lift truck designated as I having a conventional lift carriage unit 2 on which is mounted the device of the invention noted as 3.

The lift carriage 2 as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4 comprises a rectangular frame including horizontal elements 4, 5 and 6 connected by side verticals 1 and intermediate verticals 8, all being apertured near their upper ends to receive a mounting rod 9.

The load engaging and supporting member which is the subject of the invention is mounted on this lift carriage and as shown in Figs. 2, 3. 4 and 5 comprises a vertical bracket l0 having a lower horizontal extension H which acts as a load bearing member. A pair of bearing block assemblies I 2 and I 4 extend horizontally from the bracket l0, parallel to member I l A flangelike portion l5 on the upper back side of bracket I0 is apertured to receive mounting rod 9 so as to secure the load engaging unit 3 to the lift carriage 2. end by means of bolts [3 through cross piece 6.

The bearing blocks 12 and I 4, and bearing surface H act to hold and pivot rod assembly iii in position. This assembly I6 comprises upper and lower aligned sections 2! and I! spaced apart and having their adjacent ends fitted with confronting crank discs 20 and I8 which are in turn held in spaced relation by bolt and spacer assemblies 22.

A pair of holders 23 and 24 are mounted on the lower portion of rod l1 and are maintained in spaced angular relation by means of brace 25 be tween them. Load engaging members 26 are adjustably secured in the hollow ends of holders 23 This bracket is secured at its lower and 24 by suitable means such as set screws.

It will also be noted that each holder 23 and 24 has a flange-like member 21 secured to its outboard side. These members are adapted to abut cross piece 6 for limiting the oscillating movement. A single holder 28 is mounted on the upper portion of rod 2| and carries a removable prong-like member 29 at its outer extremity. This is the principal load carrying member and is braced at 28'.

A double acting hydraulic cylinder 30 has one end pivotally mounted on bracket 3| which is in turn bolted to cross piece of the frame. The outer end 34 of piston rod 32 is connected to crank pin 33 extending between discs I8 and 20. Tubes 35 and 36 carry the actuating fluid to the hydraulic cylinder from any ordinary hydraulic pump and control means normally used in such arrangements.

It should be noted that load engaging members 26 and 29 are removable from their holders and it is contemplated that various other types of load engaging members may be used depending on the type of materials being handled.

The operation of this load engaging device appears obvious but a brief reference to the operation will be made in connection with the stowing 0f bales of cotton in a warehouse.

The bale which is to be stored is grasped by load engaging members 26 and 29 sticking into the material a sufiicient amount to firmly hold the bale. This bale is then lifted and carried to the location where it is to be stowed. The truck proceeds down the aisle until the desired site is reached, whereupon the load is raised or lowered to the correct height and by appropriate controls cylinder 30 is furnished fluid to actuate rod 32 and thereby rotate the bale handling device either to the right or left so that the bale may be deposited in the correct spot, after which the handling device is freed from the bale and the truck moves out of the aisle.

The details of construction of this particular embodiment of the invention here illustrated and described are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the invention since the device could be constructed in many forms.

What I claim as novel and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A load engaging and handling attachment suitable for the lift carriage of a commercial lift truck comprising a support, a load bearing member extending from the lower portion of said support, a pair of bearing blocks on said support, a rod assembly oscillatably carried by the aforesaid bearing blocks and load bearing member including separate upper and lower sections, crank discs mounted on the confronting ends of said sections and means spacing and fastening the discs together, a holder extending from the upper section and a pair of spaced holders extending from the lower section, load engaging elements extending from said holders, and

power means mounted on the lift carriage engageable with one of the disc spacing means to oscillate the rod assembly.

2. A load engaging and handling attachment suitable for the lift carriage of a commercial lift truck comprising a support, a member extending from the lower extremity of said support to act as a thrust bearing, a pair of guide bearings mounted on said support, a rod assembly carried by said bearings and including a lower section, a pair of laterally spaced rod-like holders extending outwardly from the lower portion of said section, a flange-like stop member positioned on the outward side of each holder, a crank disc secured to the top of said lower section, an upper section, a crank disc secured to the lower end of said upper section, a rod-like holder extending from the upper portion of said upper section, crank pin and spacer means connecting afore said discs in spaced relation, power means mounted on the lift carriage and having a rod engageable with said crank pin to rotate the rod assembly.

3. The device as described in claim 2 in which the upper rod-like holder is centrally above the spaced lower rod-like holders on the lower section.

4. A load engaging and handling attachment suitable for the lift carriage of a commercial lift truck comprising a support, means for attach ing the support to said carriage, load bearing and guide means extending from said support, a rod assembly including separate upper and lower rod sections, crank discs mounted on the confronting ends of said sections, means spacing and fastening the discs together, a single load engaging member extending from one section and a pair of spaced load engaging members extending from the other section, and actuating means extending between the lift carriage and a crank disc spacing means to oscillate the rod assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,518,560 Carroll Dec. 9, 1924 1,815,190 Criner July 21, 1931 2,271,624 Cochran Feb. 3, 1942 2,447,300 Williams Aug. 17, 1948 2,517,085 Girillo Aug. 1, 1950 2,575,552 Glenn, Jr. Nov. 20, 1951 2,587,769 Rowe Mar. 4, 1952 2,593,820 Weiss Apr. 22, 1952 2,605,918 Roscoe Aug. 5, 1952 2,613,829 Gault Oct. 14, 1952 2,620,930 Mullgardt Dec. 9, 1952 2,621,822 Melin Dec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 615,281 Great Britain Jan. 4, 1949 690,736 France June 24, 1930 

